Bureaucrats stifle business, job growth

By Rep. Richard Hudson Contributing Columnist

June 16, 2014

There has been a lot of discussion in recent months about economic development in North Carolina. It’s a state priority, as well as one of my own, to support industries and small businesses that drive our economy and create jobs in our local communities.

Unfortunately, our small businesses and industries struggle as they are forced to comply with more rules, more paperwork and more red tape coming out of Washington. I ran for Congress because I wanted to get big government out of the way of our small businesses and job creators and help individuals and families keep more of their hard-earned income.

At a time when millions of Americans are out of work, I remain committed to working with both Republicans and Democrats to cultivate an environment where small businesses can succeed, entrepreneurs can create jobs and workers can get back into the labor force. This starts with simplifying our overly burdensome tax code and getting big-government bureaucrats out of the way. Every dollar Washington takes from small businesses is capital they can’t use to invest in equipment, hire new employees or provide more in wages and benefits.

In North Carolina alone, more than 800,000 small businesses account for 1.5 million jobs. For many of these small businesses, complying with excessive tax and regulatory burdens can be arduous and time-consuming. That accounts for 1.5 million people in our state who take home less pay or see fewer work hours due to Washington’s heavy taxing hand.

While over-taxation is just one piece of the problem, the flaws in the tax code go far beyond excessive rates. The outrageous complexity of our Internal Revenue Service code burdens our families and our small businesses, and I remain committed to fixing it. The uncertainty that stems from this convoluted system prevents small businesses from growing and stifles our economy.

This week, the House voted to simplify our tax code and make it work for Americans, not against them. The House passed legislation that will provide tax relief and more certainty for our small businesses. The America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2014 (H.R. 4457) will help create stability for small businesses by making permanent small business expensing outlined in Section 179, a bipartisan provision, of the tax code.

Currently, the changing rules surrounding small business expensing make it difficult for our small businesses to budget, grow and plan. This bill will make the rules permanent and predictable so that small business owners will have the stability and certainty needed to invest in their businesses and create jobs.

This is just one example of the types of commonsense reforms we can make to our current tax code that will get government out of the way of our job-creators and help grow the economy. I came to Washington to fight for our families and businesses — not bureaucrats and politicians — and I will continue to explore ways to help hardworking Americans take home more of their paychecks.

Rep. Richard Hudson, R-Concord, represents North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District. The district includes all of Richmond County.